Comments on: Seattle's Light Rail Opens, Redefining Life in the City

By: John Niles

John Niles — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:46:11 +0000

For those interested — many in Seattle are — I’m plotting the reported ridership of Seattle’s new light rail day by day.
http://www.bettertransport.info/pitf/Linkpassengercount.htm

By: Chetan

Chetan — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:52:09 +0000

This is great. I live in Seattle, and since the last five years, transit ridership has been going up vary fast (7% between 06 and 07, 9% between 07 and 08, and 11% between 08 and 09) Seattleites are fed up of cars and car culture. Apart from the massive transit system already approved, the new mayor wants another vote for more light rail expansion to the city’s west side (where the monorail was going to be)

When it comes to transportation, the northwest gets it. Portland just opened another line and is planning another 13 mile extension, Vancouver just opened the Canada line and is working on the Evergreen line, and Seattle finally got transit.The future looks good for us.

By: EJG_luvs_trains

EJG_luvs_trains — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:39:00 +0000

I took my 10 month old daughter to ride LRT on Opening Day, Saturday. She probably won’t remember, but she will certainly know daddy is a train geek. ST did a great job of keeping things orderly and showcasing the line, including all the excellent art! There is a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier when the track turns in Tukwila and I heard trains were hitting 57mph on the stretch north of that. We were keeping pace with cars on the highway – and there was no congestion. Ridership on the initial segment will probably be lower than anticipated for a couple years due to the economy and the fact that we built it without parking, preferring long-term transit-oriented development around the stations. I think that’s the right strategy, but of course the curmudgeons who want to drive to a station are all in a tizzy. Bus routes won’t change to feed the LRT until September, which is unfortunate. When it finally reaches Northgate (2019?) and goes East (2021?) it will have many more riders because it will be able to form the core component of many more regional trips. Our geography and geology make rail very expensive to build here, but over time, people will realize what tremendous value this system brings to the city. The NW is certainly making great strides this year with Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C. all opening new rail lines!!!

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:27:56 +0000

I’ve been following the reaction in Seattle’s local newspaper. Apparently most of the people who actually live in Seattle are pro-LRT, and those who live outside Seattle are singing the Boondoggle Chorus.

From what I’ve read, though, this is quite an impressive line. It actually isn’t light rail, but is more of a “light metro” which is designed so it operates somewhat between a true light rail and a true subway (they plan to have it operate at 50+ MPH in some sections, and they designed the platforms to accommodate 4 car trains, whereas LRT usually has 1 or 2 cars. I don’t know if it ever runs in the street and has to wait for traffic lights, but if it doesn’t, it’s more of a light metro of sorts. St. Louis Metrolink is like that, where although it has grade crossings, it has its own ROW and high level platforms, and runs at 55-60 MPH.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:05:59 +0000

This is great news. Mass transit takes another step forward in the U.S! I look forward to following the expansion of the system in the years to come.

By: Mad Park

Mad Park — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:49:52 +0000

Saturday was a banner day for Seattle. As one of the greying portion of the population who voted yes 40 years ago, it was a long, but worthwhile wait. Sound Transit did a terrific job of coordinating the opening; there were few glitches and the system is rather elegant. Lots of oohs and ahs as people visited neighborhoods they’d never seen and admired the art, proving again that Seattle really is Mayberry with skyscrapers. Onward to the University of Washington!